Oneshot: Wishing Star
by colouredred
Summary: No matter what you might call them, shooting stars or wishing stars or even just satellites, it was an undeniable fact that Ava would wish upon it. She had very little time left, before their parting of ways came along. And all she could do was wish, and hope. Highschool AU, Armin/OC


**Disclaimer: I don't own 'Shingeki no Kyojin' (obviously).**

**Just to clarify, this is an AU. The setting is during highschool/boarding school, and my apologies in advance for any inaccuracy with the setting. Now please, read.**

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_Wishing Star_

* * *

He was star-drenched.

If Ava knew only one thing for certain, it would be that. With the amount of times she wished for him, on the many shooting stars in the sky, he could be nothing but. Armin Arlert was drowning in her wishes upon stars.

But if there were one other thing he was drowning in, it was the conversation around him.

Unlike his good friend Ava, he could barely keep up with the many threads of words around him. There were almost five different discussions happening at once, and often they would intercept upon each other. Armin sat on the couch, nearby yet out of the way, and wondering why, for the life of them, they couldn't just settle on a movie to watch.

Every single get-together usually ended up like this. Mikasa would sit by and watch, Krista and Ymir would be content in their bubble, broken only so that Ymir could occasionally insult Connie, who was, in turn, engaged in talking with Sasha and Marco. The loudest among them would be Jean and Eren, who always argued but still managed to remain friends despite. Ava flitted between them all, but often ended up sitting between Mikasa and Armin.

"Okay!" cried Eren, standing up and holding a DVD case above his head, "This is it!"

"Finally." Ymir muttered.

"Just put it in." ordered Jean.

"Then this'll be over with." mumbled Ava, from beside Armin.

Armin glanced over at her. She was hugging her knees to her chest, making her appear smaller than she already was – just bordering five feet – and resting her chin on top. Though he could only see her from the side, Armin had long since memorized what she looked like; round-faced, with wide brown eyes, dirty-red hair and pretty lips. Not, of course, that he had thought too much on that.

"Mikasa," Ava turned towards the stoic girl, "Aren't you scared even a little bit? This is a _horror_ movie, after all."

"You can always cuddle me if you are." Jean interjected, as if Mikasa had answered.

His comment procured a few laughs.

"Come on, we all know who you _really_ like." Ava quipped.

Jean's face grew a brilliant red, and though he tried to retort, only stuttering was heard.

"We do?" Marco wondered, staring at Jean.

"It's so obvious." Connie agreed.

Armin looked between Jean and Marco, surprised that neither had realised it yet. "Wow." He murmured, amazed.

Ava giggled beside him. "Damn right."

"Everyone get ready!"

"Next time Eren yells, I'm going to punch him." Ava said in response.

"He doesn't mean it." assured Armin.

Mikasa nodded also. "You know that." She added.

With much shoving and accusing, the group of friends assembled themselves inside the dorm room. It belonged to Eren and Armin, who were lucky enough to be the only two boarders in the room. Given the school was so popular, it was rather unusual, although no one had argued about the extra space. Perhaps it was just that so many in their year had seemed to leave or drop out – Annie, Reiner and Bertolt among those who had disappeared, albeit temporarily. But then again, it was nearing the end of the school year, their very last ever, and so it was understandable.

It was also the very reason Eren had called this gathering.

Ava had readily accepted the invitation. She liked the company, and any excuse to spend time with Armin was a good one, in her opinion.

When Eren turned from the TV to search for a seat, his face fell as he noticed the couch was taken. It was only small, and just managed to fit Armin, Ava, Mikasa and then Jean and Marco. Ymir and Krista sat on a nearby bed, whilst Eren had to join Connie and Sasha on the floor.

"Can you pass the popcorn?" Sasha asked, although didn't wait to reach around Eren and Connie, grabbing it herself.

"You're gonna get fat." Connie remarked.

Sasha simply turned to him, staring, as she placed a popped kernel between her teeth and bit down hard.

"You can't stop her, so you should just give up." Marco remarked.

"Besides, why does it matter if she does?" Ava continued to argue.

Sasha nodded decisively. "And I go running to work it off."

"Fine, forget I said anything." Connie grumbled, overcome.

A menu for the movie soon appeared on the screen, depicting a black background with plain white text. Eerie, screeching music played distantly, until Eren pressed 'play' and the opening advertisements and credits began.

Ava, slowly taking her eyes off the screen, reached down to snatch a handful of popcorn from the bowl.

"Oh, and Ava, just so you know," Eren began teasingly, "The movie was based on a true story."

The red haired girl acted reflexively, lashing out with her foot and kicking him the back of his head. Eren let out a loud moan of pain, yet received no sympathy.

Armin was the first to stick up for Ava, saying, "Don't make fun of her like that."

"Or I'll kick you harder." Ava added, smiling sweetly.

"Although I don't think that would help either…"

"Would you two stop flirting and just watch the damn movie?" Jean interrupted grumpily.

"Wow, Jean, you seem a little on-edge," Marco commented, "Maybe Ava's not the only one scared here."

It was Ymir who interceded before further arguing ensured, offering only a blunt, "Shut up."

Ava was hardly paying attention, intent upon the popcorn in her hand. She didn't stop him as Armin reached down to steal some, and neither did she notice the sideways glance he shot her as she was distracted.

As silence returned to the group, all attention was directed towards the movie. It was a typical horror movie, opening with an all-American family moving into an old house, which turned out to be not as vacant as they had imagined. It began with creaks, door shutting suddenly, and things of the like.

So far, Ava decided, it wasn't _too_ bad.

Then, in one particular scene, one of the children had woken with a start and found a horrifyingly disfigured face above them, Ava felt as if she jumped so hard her skin fell away. She wasn't the only one, as Jean let out a small yelp of his own.

"Calm down." Marco ordered softly in response.

"I am calm." hissed Jean.

Ava said nothing, and she never needed to; Armin noticed regardless. Before he had time to think too hard upon on it, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. Ava fell readily against him, relishing the comfort of his warmth. He had always been a reassurance.

"Why did I agree to this?" Ava muttered, despite knowing full-well the answer.

"It's not real, you know. It's all actors and special effects." Armin assured quietly.

Ava's grip on his hand tightened. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Logical."

"Look, Ava, I can pause it if you want." Eren offered, glancing up at her.

Ava smiled and shook her head. "It's fine." She lied, so as to not disturb the others, who were mostly all enjoying the movie.

Eren nodded, obviously not thinking too hard upon her decision. Armin, too, returned to the movie, although he couldn't help but worry for Ava. She had procured a soft spot in his heart, and Armin found it impossible to _not_ think about her.

With Ava now pressed snuggly against him, wrapped up in her thick sweater and jeans, he could feel her every movement. He knew when she flinched, for she would press her face into his shoulder, and whenever a character screamed, she would grip his hand tightly. When he glanced at her on occasion, she seemed paler than usual, although her expression would be monotone.

Finally, as Armin had always guessed she would, Ava reached breaking point.

In a single, fluid motion, Ava stood from the couch, before quickly walking from the room.

"What's with her?" Connie wondered.

"Is she okay?" asked Krista, concernedly.

"Dibs her seat." Eren added.

Armin resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Ava and Eren had an odd relationship, wherein they did care for each other, yet would never admit it. Their apparent apathy, he knew, was nothing more than a gimmick.

"I'll go see if Ava's alright." Armin declared, also rising from his seat.

As he made his way across the room and towards the door, he heard Eren call out after him, "Tell her I'm sorry."

"Sure." Armin replied quickly, before the door shut behind him.

The corridor following was colder than inside, perhaps because Ava was no longer with him. A sigh fell from his lips, dropping into the dead silence, before he began to follow the halls that led him outside. Despite it only being autumn, the fact that winter was drawing closer explained why it was so cold that night. Indeed, when Armin finally reached the outside, he was beginning to regret not grabbing a coat or scarf, instead of leaving in just a t-shirt and pants.

Armin easily spotted the thick red braid of Ava's hair, and approached her slowly.

"Sorry," she murmured, "I just needed some air."

"It's fine."

For a few minutes, they were content to stand there, in companionable silence. Nothing else needed to be said, and the only comfort Ava needed in that moment was the knowledge of his presence. He stood so close they almost touched.

"You know, there isn't a single scary movie in the world that's real." Armin told her again, at length.

Ava started, turning towards him with a concerned expression. "But Eren said it was based on a true story!"

Armin could only smile at her foolish insistence, which was oddly endearing.

"It's nothing more than a ploy to make it scarier."

Ava crossed her arms defiantly, before sighing, "I know."

She grew quiet after that. It was strange, as Armin only ever knew her to be upbeat, energetic person. After all those years, and she chose their last to begin acting strange.

It saddened him to realise that he probably didn't know her at all; saddened, and annoyed him.

The words rested on the tip of his tongue, bursting, ready to be spoken. He tried three times, each only managing to get his mouth open and nothing more.

Then, on the fourth try, he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Hm?"

"I- I mean, did I do something? You've been acting strange for a while now, and I'm sorry if I did something…"

Ava laughed. "You idiot."

"What?"

"That's not something you have to apologise for."

"Then…what is it?"

Just as before, Ava said nothing. Instead, she exhaled a puff of misty air into the cold night. Armin shivered against the cold, whilst she fiddled with the sleeve of her sweater.

"Ava?"

She turned away, so that the most he could see of her was the brilliant red of her hair. "I'm not sure if you want to know." She confessed.

"I do. Whatever the problem is, there has to be a solution for it."

"There's no cure, Armin."

"Tell me anyway."

Ava spun around, facing him. Her expression was calm, although her skin was blushing brighter than the colour of her hair. She fidgeted on the spot, making Armin nervous only because it seemed she was. When her lips moved, forming the most welcome of all words, he couldn't look away.

"I love you."

Not _like_; _love_.

She hated lying, and so said the truth in its most blunt, pure form. Ava had fallen, quite accidently, in love with Armin Arlert.

"Oh," he replied, "Good."

Without a second thought, he crossed the distance between them and pulled her into a hug. It was warm, comforting in the way hugs always were. No matter how Ava felt, the twisting knots of her stomach or her anxious anticipation of his response, she would always be happy if it were Armin who stood by her.

Ava looked out at the night sky beyond Armin's shoulder, a flash of light catching her eye. Make a wish, she thought. She always wished for Armin.

On this night, she broke that tradition. Her wish upon this shooting star was for her, and it was simply; _kiss me_.

"…I love you too."

Ava broke away from the embrace, creating the distance necessary to convey her shock. He smiled, a rare, full smile, and leaned down. Ava could have kissed him for an eternity – it certainly felt like she did. Unfortunately, it fell just a little short of forever.

It was in that moment they were interrupted, by the shout of a certain, prying boy named Eren.

"_Finally!_"

_Finally._ The wishing stars had worked.

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**Mistakes may be pointed out, and criticism is welcome just as much as a good review. I know that OC stories can be unpopular (which is why I made it AU, because why not make it even more unlikely to be read and liked?), so please tell what you think about Ava.**

**Also, I know that some people tend to categorize Armin as the 'timid, nerdy' type, but I think he's actually pretty badass (he will fuck some shit up, lemme tell you). Also, given that he's fairly logical, I figured that horror movies wouldn't faze him, unlike how they make Ava react. It was that and that fact that I watched 'The Conjuring' recently that led to the inspiration - which I finally finished weeks after getting the idea.**

**Thank you for reading (and maybe check out my other Shingeki no Kyojin oneshots?).**


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